P.O.B.

There were 8,002,530 downloads of Firefox 3 back on June 18th, and I was one of them! Mozilla has announced that they’ve officially been added to the Guinness World Records for most downloads in a 24-hour period.

So, do I get an official certificate? Should I add this into the "OTHER" category on my resume?  I don't know how to effectively add my new accomplishment to my personal history book!



If you haven't tried Firefox--the best web browser EVER--download it for free HERE.

What more is there to say?

Tired of being tied to your Xbox, just to play Guitar Hero? Now there's a Guitar Hero  mini-game widget that you can embed in your own blog or web page.

The widget, played with the keyboard, contains three different songs: "Cult of Personality" by Living Colour, "School's Out" by Alice Cooper, and "Metal Heavy Lady" by Lions. Each is set at only one difficulty level: Easy, Medium, and Hard, respectively.

Just use the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 keys as frets and the Enter button to strum.  Fun!

The world's biggest discount retailer is changing its famous logo and how the company spells its name. Wal-Mart will now be Walmart (no hyphen). And the star is going away too and will be replaced by a starburst.

The Wall Street Journal obtained a mockup of the new logo which is to be unveiled next week. But here's a preview, thanks to our friends at myFOXPhilly.com:

My personal trainer is friends with some bouncers at a few nightclubs here in St. Louis.  In the middle of my workout this morning, he tells me that ladies purses are now being checked as they enter the bar--for a can of green beans and a tube sock. 

It's a form of self-defense where they assemble the two once in the bar by dropping the can into the sock, then when they feel threatened, they whip it out , swing it around like a lasso and whack the guy giving them a hard time. 

Just imagining this in the bar made me laugh hysterically (especially when trying to lift heavy weights), but after some thought, I wanted to bring this up to the bloggers and get your thoughts on it.

What happened to the days of mace?  Is it the economy that's causing us to come up with "cheaper" ways of self-defense? Some ladies must have performed this ninja magic enough times so bars are finally making it their policy to prevent it.

Nothing can explain just how awesome this idea is. I only wish it would be closer, like Vegas. There are plans for the world's first revolving tower, which will be located in Dubai.

According to Building.co.uk, the 80-story tower would offer residents an ever-shifting view of the Persian Gulf as the floors spin round a central core. A few superior penthouses would be fitted with voice activation technology, allowing inhabitants to control movement. Other floors would be choreographed to create a constantly-changing silhouette. And the whole building is powered by wind turbines installed between every floor.

Other awesome images:

I fail at this. Maybe I need a flat surface. Seems so simple. I may just leave the clothes in the hamper and pull them out as needed. Who knows. Best of luck to anyone who succeeds in quick folding.

How many five year olds could you take in a fight?  Seriously, that's the name of the website:

http://www.howmanyfiveyearoldscouldyoutakeinafight.com


While flying to Dallas a couple weeks ago, I was reading over the shoulder of the guy next to me, and this web site appeared in the Southwest Airlines magazine. You should be proud of me by the way--I had nothing to write on, and had to remember this exhaustively long domain name until the plane landed and I could email myself the name.

So I had time to ponder what this site could be about.  Such a long website name, and it sounded instantly in poor taste.  And after viewing the site, it still leaves a bad impression. Are the creators trying to be funny? I filled out their form to see just how many I could take in a fight, and after a quick (and slightly funny questionnaire), my results showed I could take 15 in a fight. 

But now what do I do with that knowledge?  Concerned, yet don't really care.

This is a follow-up blog to my original post about Google's Street View application. I've noticed now that parts of the St. Louis area are part of the feature where you can explore cityscapes, landmarks, points of interest from a street perspective. Find shops, restaurants, parks, hotels and more.

Here's Google's snapshot of the famous Mom's Deli at Jamieson near Landsdowne in the city.


Click here for St. Louis' Street View.

Happy browsing!

ChaCha.com's TXT service is amazing!

Our 6:00pm news producer Alicia Bumpus introduced me to Cha Cha today. Sounds so silly, but it's one of the best FREE applications for TXT I've seen. All you do is TXT 242 242 with your question, and within 3 minutes you get an answer.  It can be about anything!  I tested it's knowledge today with these three questions:

My Question: What are the primary colors?
ChaCha's Answer: Red, green, and blue are the primary colors.

My Question: How many Facebook accounts are there?
ChaCha's Answer: Several million

My Question: How many episodes of Family Guy are there?
ChaCha's Answer: I'm finding 110 episodes of Family Guy.

Cool! I haven't asked quirky things like "How deep is your love?" or "How do you throw away a trash can?" or what's Klingon for "Where's your bathroom?" but if I get bored, I may.

Have you tried it? Are you trying it now? Have I piqued your interest?

Yahoo! Sports NFL Columnist Mike Silver  has reported that  the St. Louis Rams may be on the market for a new owner and a new home. Silver reports that former San Francisco 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo may be eyeing the Rams with the possibility of moving them to Los Angeles.  
 
However, the Associated Press is reporting that Rams co-owner Chip Rosenbloom is refuting the idea that the team will be sold and moved back to Southern California.

Georgia Frontiere moved the Rams from Los Angeles to St. Louis in 1995.  Frontiere died in January. The team is now owned by her children, Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez.

In a written statement, Rosenbloom says the owners have been approached about a possible sale. But he says he and his sister "have every intention of keeping the Rams in St. Louis."

What do you think about all this?

Our web producer Jill sent me the list of Hurricane names for 2008, which are:

Arthur
Bertha
Christobal
Dolly
Edouard
Fay
Gustav
Hanna
Ike
Josephine
Kyle
Laura
Marco
Nana
Omar
Paloma
Rene
Sally
Teddy
Vicky
Wilfred

But what if they were sponsored...we laugh, but what if that's a possibility to pay off national debt or something similar?  Here's my list of qualified sponsors:

Advil
Buy.com
Cialis
Dexatrim
EBay
Farfegnugen
Google
Head-On (apply directly to the forehead)
IPod
Jimmy John's
Krispy Kreme
LG
Minute Maid
Northwest Airlines
Ovaltine
Prada
Red Roof Inn
Starbucks
Tang
Virgin Records
Wachovia

Google has been adding to their Street View feature of Google Maps for quite some time now, and it's created a lot of buzz---good and bad.  Some are even turning to lawsuits.

The feature offers 360-degree, street-level images of urban life so clear that passersby often can be identified.  The camera takes pictures every few feet of  48 different cities (St. Louis is not included yet) with more and more adding to the list.  You can find street views for Boston, Anchorage, Kansas City,  Las Vegas, Nashville, etc.  Click here for a complete list. 

Here's a snapshot from Boston:



Regarding the concerns of privacy, Stephen Chau, product manager for Google Maps says, "We take privacy concerns seriously. All these images are taken on public streets. It's exactly what you could see walking down the street."

Do you think this new technology is an invasion of privacy?

Ripped straight from myFOXstl.com's Business section:

SAN FRANCISCO  --  The maker of the popular photo-editing software Photoshop on Thursday launched a basic version available for free online.

San Jose, Calif.-based Adobe Systems Inc. says it hopes to boost its name recognition among a new generation of consumers who edit, store and share photos online.

While Photoshop is designed for trained professionals, Adobe says Photoshop Express, which it launched in a "beta" test version, is easier to learn. User comments will be taken into account for future upgrades.

Photoshop Express will be completely Web-based so consumers can use it with any type of computer, operating system and browser. And, once they register, users can get to their accounts from different computers.

Web-based software is increasingly popular, and Adobe knows it's got to get on that train, said Kathleen Maher, an analyst at Jon Peddie Research.

Many kinds of software are available for use online in a trend known as "software as a service," or "cloud computing." The earliest were e-mail programs, but they now include services to create and manage content and even whole operating systems. And they don't require time-consuming upgrades because they're maintained by the service provider.

Google Inc. provides a host of such services, as do Microsoft Corp. and others.

"This is the battlefield where Adobe and Microsoft and Google are going to fight some pretty big battles," Maher said.

Photoshop enters the online photo-management arena many years after such services first appeared. Some companies have already made a big name for themselves, like 9-year-old storage solution Shutterfly Inc., photo-editing service Picnik or image-sharing site Photobucket Inc.

Adobe says providing Photoshop Express for free is part marketing and part a strategy to create up-sell opportunities. It hopes some customers will move from it to boxed software like its $99 Photoshop Elements or to a subscription-based version of Express that's in the works.

Ron Glaz, a research analyst at IDC, says the move was necessary for Adobe to keep pace. Users are less likely to switch to a software they aren't familiar with, he said.

"They have a whole market that they are missing out on, and they need to make sure that the market is aware there is a Photoshop solution for them. As that market grows and becomes more sophisticated, hopefully it will generate money," Glaz said.

"It's one of those things, if you can't beat them, join them," Glaz said. "If they don't join them, the long run could be really painful."

Get it here! http://www.photoshop.com/express

I can't believe this exists, yet I know creative minds wander and come up with this kind of stuff. I guess there's a market for this, especially with $8 stadium beers and the inability to bring your own cooler to concerts.

It's called THE WINE RACK. The website that sells it says "My cups runneth over! Hey girls - must improve your bust? Then do it with a stealth wine dispenser that you wear like a bra. As well as allowing you to secrete and sip drinks wherever you may roam, this boob-enhancing gizmo will increase your cup size by two full cups. Gulp!"




Features:

• Very comfortable sports bra available in versatile black.
• Polyurethane bladder holds over 750ml or 25oz. of your favorite beverage, increasing your cup size 2 full cups.
• Drinking tube long enough to route as you wish.
• Easy to use on/off valve to control the flow.

Dimensions:

• Small fits 32A thru 36A
• Medium fits 34B thru 38B

Here's more info on the Wine Rack (including video): http://firebox.com/product/2061

It's around $30.
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They also have a man's version, and it's called "The Beer Belly" and it's about $35.



More info on the Beer Belly (including video): http://firebox.com/product/2061

Would you buy this?